"Galapagos tortoises can live for over 100 years in the wild, and close to double that in captivity. The oldest known Galapagos tortoise was named Harriet, who lived at the Australia Zoo until the age of 175. She was collected from the Galapagos Islands in 1835, when she was just the size of a dinner plate, according to the zoo. This means that she hatched somewhere around 1830, and she died in 2006."
"It's not clear exactly when the tortoise arrived at the San Diego Zoo, but zoo officials said she came from the Bronx Zoo in either 1928 or 1931 as part of their first group of Galapagos tortoises. As the world changed around her, she delighted visitors with her sweet, shy personality. She lived through two World Wars and 20 U.S. presidents. Her care specialists affectionately called her "the Queen of the Zoo.""
Gramma, a Galapagos tortoise estimated at about 141 years old, died Nov. 20 at the San Diego Zoo after bone conditions related to old age progressed and led to euthanasia. She was born in the Galapagos and arrived from the Bronx Zoo in either 1928 or 1931 as part of the zoo's first Galapagos tortoise group. Care specialists called her "the Queen of the Zoo." She delighted visitors with a sweet, shy personality and spanned two World Wars and 20 U.S. presidents. Visitors recalled childhood visits and generational memories. Fifteen subspecies exist; three are extinct and remaining subspecies face conservation concerns.
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